Bank of America Corp DE Trims Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Fortis stake by 10.3% in the first quarter, selling 244,425 shares and retaining 2.13 million shares valued at approximately $118.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.77% of Fortis.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy ratings and six Hold ratings, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $66.33. Recent actions included downgrades from Wall Street Zen and CIBC.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue of $1.67 billion fell short of forecasts. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64, equivalent to a 4.6% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,126,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 244,425 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.42% of Fortis worth $118,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Addison Capital Co grew its holdings in Fortis by 0.9% in the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 32,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Fortis by 0.6% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 10.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Fortis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 37,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price target on Fortis in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $55.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64 and a beta of 0.43. Fortis has a 52-week low of $48.64 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $57.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.52%.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company's core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source